A History Lesson in the High Quality Company

Transcript*

Intro: The Creator Behind Wingnut Wings

Hello all. This is David from Sunward Hobbies. And today to do something a little different, I wanted to have a little chat about one of the hobbies most engaging story lines. Wingnut Wings.

Wingnut Wings launched in 2009, much to the surprise and joy of many aircraft hobbyists.

Wingnut Wings Focus and Mission

It was founded by New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson, most famous for such classics as Bad Taste and Meet the Feebles. They states their claim on the hobby market by creating 1/32nd scale World War I aircraft, both famous and obscure. Starting with their very first release, the Junker’s J1.

Their business mindset was to create state-of-the-art, high quality kits that were easy to construct and would generate interest in the less popular Great War era of aviation. For 11 years, they built up a substantial catalog and a devoted fan base that would happily buy the newest release, no matter how expensive. Until they didn’t.

Why the Shutdown in 2022

Then suddenly in early 2020, Wingnut announced that they would be shutting down permanently to the horror of the hobby community. So why did this happen? Well, the obvious answer would be the Corona virus pandemic and its subsequent lock downs. However, staff and insiders tell a different story.

Wingnut was undoubtedly a passion project. Sadly, a passion project based on a very niche pastime that is expensive to produce most of the time results in an unprofitable business. Even before everything went down, staff apparently suspected for a while that Peter Jackson and the other higher ups at Wingnut were planning to shut down the company as it was becoming a financial strain and co would have been the perfect catalyst to be blamed on the closure.

Evidently, there was very little communication between management and staff when the closure was announced. Ideas were pitched on how to save the company, but they were disregarded by management. Their minds were already made up.

What Happened to the Employees?

This justifiably left a bad taste in the team’s mouth as they were suddenly unemployed during a very difficult time in history.

As a result, many Wingnut staff, including general manager Richard Alexander, product designers Darren Mildenhall and Jason McAdam, among others, all rebranded together to form Kotari and carry on the same quality and passion for scale model kits.

Wingnut Wings Resurgence

And then in 2023, just as suddenly as they vanished, it was announced that a whole warehouse full of wing nut kits was discovered. And this was very highly touted. I still remember this. Uh distributors bought them all and sold them to retailers like us. And then for at least about one more year, we got to continue selling wing nut kits.

But then once those were gone, that was it. No more Wingnut anywhere to be sold. So in the years since then, Wingnut kits do still pop up every now and then, mostly in estate collections or on eBay. And due to their extreme rarity, they do command very steep prices.

The Real Down Fall?

So is there anyone to blame? Well, it’s my opinion, and I know how you all feel about that, that Peter Jackson got a little too ahead of himself. Being a world famous director with no time on your hands, it’s probably not wise to create an incredibly niche company with very expensive products. Sadly, that’s just the world we live in where profit is more important than passion.

A Thank You To Wingnut Wings

That being said, I am glad that Wingnut Wings did exist as they truly changed the game in plastic model kits. Their attention to detail and exquisite engineering really forced the competition to up their own game and make better product. I think it’s no coincidence that a company such as Airfix, who my opinion used to make garbage, right around the time that Wingnut were in their glory is when I noticed a substantial increase in quality from them.

And I’m glad to see that all those employees who were wronged by Wingnut have moved on and are doing well in their own endeavours. And that is my two cents on Wingnut Wings. So feel free to let us know in the comments your thoughts about the company and if you think that there’s just even a sliver of hope that they may come back in the future. So, I hope you enjoyed the video.

Be sure to check out our website, sunwardhobbies.ca, or drop into our store. Who knows, you might find a Wingnut Wings kit. Anyway, thanks for watching the video.

Remember to like, comment, subscribe, follow us on our socials, and until the next one, adios.

About the Author:

David Peckam has built scale models since he was 12, specializing largely on military aircraft. He is a makeup artist and background actor for films and TV. He enjoys watching hockey and of course, movies. He has an excellent knowledge of hobby products and if you have questions concerning scale model airplanes.

*Video by David Peckham
Video Edited by Daniela Castellano
Transcript generated by youtube
Edited by Angelo Castellano